marilynpeight
This Sweet and Sour Chinese Chicken tastes just like Chinese takeout but even better because you know the ingredients! This recipe for sweet and sour chicken includes a homemade sweet and sour sauce poured over fresh veggies and pineapple, stir fried with chicken breast. See below the recipe for notes and substitutions.
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Easy sweet and sour chicken recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast, cubed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch heaping
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 6 mini sweet peppers, sliced
- 3-4 green onions, sliced see below for substitutions
- 1 1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- salt (to taste)
- Oil for frying
For the sweet and sour sauce:
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 3-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar add to taste
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2/3 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
For the sauce:
- Place ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and ground ginger in a small bowl then whisk together to combine. Set sauce aside for now.
For the chicken and veggies:
- Coat the cubed chicken with cornstarch, then gently mix the chicken with beaten egg. Place the 1/2 cup all purpose flour into a medium sized bowl. Drop the chicken cubes into the flour and toss or mix gently to coat again. See note for a faster method below.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet with a thin layer of oil (roughly 5 tablespoons, but the amount may vary with different skillet sizes) over medium heat. Add the coated chicken to the skillet and fry for several minutes, turning frequently, until it has a nice golden color. Add the veggies, pineapple chunks and minced garlic, then season lightly with salt and stir fry everything together over medium-low heat until the veggies are crisp-tender.
- Add the sauce to the skillet and stir to combine with the chicken and veggies. Cook and stir for a few more minutes until the sauce has thickened then remove the skillet from heat. Allow to cool slightly then serve over white rice (optional).
Notes
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Try adding Fresh Peppermint Fruit Salad as a side and Fresh Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping for dessert! If you are feeling adventurous, try these home-made dinner rolls from Sally’s Baking Addiction!
This recipe was made possible with the help of a Morgan series Chef’s knife from Vosteed. Check them out at Vosteed.com to snag your own, or visit their Facebook group.
Ingredients needed: minced garlic, sliced mini bell peppers, sweet and sour sauce (ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ginger and soy sauce), chicken breaded in cornstarch, egg and flour, sliced spring onions and fresh pineapple cubes.
Substitutions:
Instead of using green onions you can use 1/4 cup of diced yellow onion, sliced shallots or diced red onion.
Most recipes use green bell pepper in sweet and sour chicken. Feel free to substitute a large, diced green bell pepper in this recipe as well if you prefer.
You can also replace the fresh pineapple with canned and drained pineapple chunks.
Note*
To simplify this recipe you can place the cornstarch and flour together in a large gallon bag then add the chicken dipped in egg. Massage to coat the chicken then separate the pieces and fry following the recipe instructions. The chicken is not as crispy using this method as it loses some of the coating, however this method is my husband’s preference and whenever I am in a hurry it is a good shortcut to the recipe.
Sweet and Sour Chinese chicken over 1 cup dry white rice cooked in 2 3/4 cups water.
While Pregnant with my son I frequently craved a good Chinese meal, but had to find creative ways to satisfy the craving Because we live in a small town and we rarely go out to eat as it takes 40 minutes or so to get to the nearest city. Now that I have this recipe I don’t think I’ll have to beg my husband to drive me all the way for good Chinese at odd hours of the day again!
I would love to see your creation of this recipe as well! Tag me on Instagram at thismom.cooks
